The magnets I discussed (unlike my active system) USE NO POWER AT ALL!

Silicon Solar (www.siliconsolar.com) offers their 07-1200, 6 inch square cell for $12.45. This cell produces 6 Amps of short circuit current in direct sunlight (est 40% more in space) and about 2 Watts DC power (5A at 0.4V), with a 14.7 gram mass! It can be cut to smaller size (<100cm CubeSat side), with a proportionate reduction in current and mass. It can also be cut in strips which can be soldered together in series for more voltage, with the same total power. (6 strips connected gives 0.8Amp, 2.4V, etc)(15gm)

I don't believe that a "Video" system has yet been used in a CubeSat. The "Taos" TSL1401R (856-TSL1401R0LF from www.mouser.com) can give you 128 pixel wide "Pushbroom" sensing, using the satellite orbital motion for the second scan axis (cost $8.17). You can prototype this scanning system by mounting the sensor and your added lens onto a slow rotation motor to simulate the satellite motion. If you call on the "Ham Radio Satellite Users" (Amsat, etc) for help, I think that a 10 milliwatt transmitter will be sufficient for slow image scan.

It is really nice when you can count on a flow of ideas which make your systems better, lighter and lower cost! I admit that I find that flow most reliably connected with prayer, but I am thankful for the results. I will skip an update on my shrinking GLXP lander mass for today (but the 1.2 gram gearmotor actuators I am evaluating look very good, and my last post noted that it is hard to make a cold gas attitude jet â€œtoo smallâ€

Time Flies! Micro-Space is making steady progress on several fronts. Our Google Lunar X PRIZE update captures some of this progress. We are making good progress on the wireless data links which will enable the modular, clustered flight systems which are at the core of our commercial strategy. We do not envision a large market for a single type of low mass, deep space experimental system. The cumulative market for a number of configurations will probably be significant, but this is only relevant if specialized configurations can be assembled â€“ and flown â€“ with limited custom engineering.

Among the configurations we are targeting, and plan to operationally demonstrate, are the lunar access system, the Google type Lunar Lander, and a sample return adaptation of the Lunar Lander.

when can we expect to see some videos? i want to see this "electro-magnetic tractor beam" in action (even if you have to use a microscope or some kind of special setup that negates gravity). i think i'll remain somewhat skeptical until i see a video, simply due to how awesome that would be.

The problem with this, very simple Doppler Detection system, is that a good crystal oscillator will drift by one part per million in a few minutes under the best of conditions and, given the air temperature drop with altitude, the drift rate for the transmitter in a small rocket will be much faster than this. There is usually an initial delay of about 4 seconds before the adiabatically cooled, expanding air in the rocket begins to cool the crystal, and this is enough for the acceleration and â€œFast Burnâ€

Modulation forces a detectable modification on the transmitted Radio Frequency (RF) energy. Usable modifications retain the primary characteristics of the electromagnetic radiation (so that the signal can be coupled through available cables, handled by practical antennas, aimed, amplified and detected without unreasonable difficulty). With such modifications, the RF signal can carry information. The simplest â€“ and still widely used â€“ approach is to turn the RF signal off and on to communicate using an agreed upon code. This is called CW (Continuous Wave) communication because when the RF is on, its waveform is steady and continuous.